On Friday, during P.E. class with Year 1 Class B, Shichen discovered that Kojou Akatsuki had returned.
"Kojou, you're back." On the sports field, as soon as Shichen spotted Kojou approaching, he waved and greeted him with enthusiasm.
But Kojou looked rather dispirited, nodding listlessly in response. "Shichen-sensei, I'm back."
"What's up with you, kid?" Shichen asked.
"Sir, Kojou's sister had some trouble. He's been worried about her, so he's in a bad mood," Yaze Motoki kindly explained.
"I see." Shichen nodded in understanding.
Judging by the timing and his behavior… it seemed Kojou's sister, Nagisa, must have been caught up in the Fourth Primogenitor situation.
Shichen clearly remembered Kojou Akatsuki's sister—Nagisa Akatsuki. She possessed a very rare combination of powers, having inherited her grandmother's Spirit Medium abilities and her mother's Hyper Adapter trait.
Exceptional as a shrine maiden, that was the reason she was summoned away from Itogami Island this time.
As fate would have it, the newly awakened Fourth Primogenitor had set his sights on her—an unfortunate scenario indeed.
Come to think of it, the original soul of the Fourth Primogenitor plus that huge store of power was all residing inside Nagisa Akatsuki. Was there a way for him to consume that power? It might be worth trying. At the same time, he could meet that capable, lively girl in person.
But for now, Kojou, worried for his sister, had no energy to spare. He'd ordinarily be playing basketball with Yaze, but instead he just slumped in the corner of the field, silently preoccupied with his sister's troubles.
Though Shichen, as a teacher, felt the urge to talk to him, they weren't close enough for him to offer that sort of support yet, and right now there was class to teach. They had an actual lesson today: tennis.
Shichen let the boys do their thing—those who wanted to learn the lesson could stay; those who didn't could goof off. Today, his main focus was on teaching the girls.
After all, it wouldn't be fair to neglect them—previously, it was all basketball for the boys while the girls simply did free activities. It was time to switch roles.
"Aiba—take everyone to get tennis rackets and tennis balls," he told Aiba Asagi, who'd been sneaking glances at him.
Since Kojou, the class's P.E. rep, was in no shape to help, Shichen had to rely on her.
"Sure," Asagi nodded primly, wearing her ever-calm expression as she led the group to the storage room.
"You all follow Asagi," Shichen reminded the other girls who were still staring blankly.
"Huh? Oh."
"Asagi, wait up!"
A group of girls rushed after Asagi, soon encircling her while brimming with curiosity:
"Asagi, you and Shichen-sensei seem pretty close, huh?"
"Yeah, how come he calls you by your first name?"
"Did you two know each other before?"
"Shichen-sensei and my father are acquaintances," Asagi answered simply, striding at the front.
"Oh, that's how it is..."
"Makes sense..."
"Asagi, any idea if Shichen-sensei has a girlfriend?"
"Probably not, I think."
"I wonder what kind of girl Shichen-sensei likes…"
"I bet a normal girl isn't good enough for him."
"He's so amazing; I wish I were older!"
"My dad's on the city council, you know!"
"Well, my dad's an anti-magic officer!"
"Hey, no fighting," Asagi cut in, feeling a headache coming on. "Anyway, Shichen-sensei probably doesn't care about that sort of thing. His sister is Natsuki Minamiya—seriously!"
"What? Natsuki-san is Shichen-sensei's sister?"
"No way, that's amazing!"
"That's even cooler!"
"Oh god, I like him even more now—what do I do?"
"Think he'll wait for me to grow up?"
"I could be his lover on the side..."
"Hey—!"
"… …" Under her black-framed glasses, Asagi's brows furrowed in exasperation.
She'd meant to scare them off by revealing Shichen-sensei's connection to Natsuki Minamiya, but it somehow made them even more intrigued.
A bunch of hormone-crazed teenage girls, thinking such nonsensical thoughts!
Still, one point in their chatter intrigued Asagi: "I wonder what kind of girl Shichen-sensei likes…"
…
After tennis class, lunchtime came. Shichen ate with Sasasaki Mikoto before heading to the back hill to feed the kittens.
A short while later, Kanase Kanon arrived as well.
"Onii-chan," she greeted.
"Kanon, you're here. Come help me feed them." Shichen stood and passed cat treats to Kanon, gently ruffling her hair in the process.
He truly found her silver hair adorable, and her soft, gentle voice made it impossible for him not to indulge his protective side.
"Sure," Kanon responded quietly, lowering herself to help feed the kittens.
As usual, there was a sweet fragrance of flowers, and the mewling of tiny cats. The whole scene was peaceful and pleasant.
Once they'd about finished feeding them, Shichen turned to Kanon and said, "Kanon, do you think it's not so great for the cats to stay here forever?"
"What do you mean, Onii-chan?" Kanase Kanon asked, puzzled.
"I was thinking of trying to get them adopted. It's kind of pitiful for them to remain strays out here."
"You've got a point… But I asked my classmates already, none of them can take a cat," she replied, a bit downcast.
"Then you're forgetting who I am," Shichen teased with a grin. "I'm a teacher—I can find people to adopt a few cats, no problem!"
"Oh! Then I'm counting on you, Onii-chan!" said Kanon, her face lighting up, bending forward in a polite bow.
"Hey now," Shichen scolded gently. "We're family, right? I'll get upset if you thank me like I'm some stranger."
"S-sorry…"
"No more 'sorry.' Understood?"
"Okay."
"That's more like it." He flicked his fingers lightly against her forehead, then smiled. "All right, got it. This afternoon, I probably won't be able to come. I need to visit a student's family member in the hospital."
"Why does Onii-chan have to visit them too?"
"Well, that kid's become a friend of sorts. And apparently, I might be able to help his sister."
"Ah, I see…" Kanon nodded sympathetically. "Are you coming tomorrow then?"
"Of course." Shichen ruffled her hair again.
"I'm glad." Kanon looked relieved.
"What's wrong? You don't want me coming that badly?" he teased.
"Mm," Kanon admitted openly. "It feels nice being with Onii-chan."
"Haha, I feel comfortable around you too."
"Really?" Kanon's eyes sparkled with happiness.
"Would I lie? If so, I'd be a dog," he joked.
"Heehee~" she giggled, delighted.
Shichen stifled the urge to scoop her up in his arms—she was just too endearing!
…
After school, Shichen met up with Kojou Akatsuki and the others at the school gates. Besides Yaze Motoki, Asagi Aiba was there as well.
"Why does Shichen-sensei want to visit Nagisa?" Kojou asked listlessly.
"Sensei's concerned about his students' families. Isn't that what a good teacher does?" Shichen responded.
"Shichen-sensei is actually that nice?" Kojou grumbled. "I'm touched, but…why is Asagi here too?"
"Don't get the wrong idea," Asagi said from behind her black-framed glasses, her face impassive. "I'm just tagging along since it's on the way."
"Oh."
~~~
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